The Material of Heaven

lady slippers in the mountain laurel

i am seeing things this slow and delicate spring

that take the breath away that

interrupt the rhythm of the heart things

so rich my morning walks sustain me through the day and

evening rambles carry me to dreams and visions through the night

i have the material of heaven here

we have the material of heaven here

the standing miracle to man is man

behind the paling yonder     rain or shine     hope or doubt

there dwells an actual being who can sympathize

with our sublimest thoughts     the revelations of nature

hint to us of a remote future     of possibilities untold

but startlingly near to us some day we find a fellow-man

—italics from the journal of Thoreau, May 21, 1851